Anabel Cordina, an art teacher in primary state schools, recently attended a three-week intensive Fine Art course, specialising in relief printing, at the Frans Masereel Centre, the Flemish centre for the graphic arts, in Kasterlee, Belgium.
The centre specialises in the printed image, and includes pro-fessional studios equipped for lithography, silkscreen, etching and relief printing.
Over three weeks, Ms Cordina and seven other artists attended individual tutorials, group meetings, as well as artist presentations and critique of work spanning the five different printmaking techniques.
Each artist was also assigned a cabin with a personal studio space. This enabled the participants to gain first-hand information on their area of specialisation as well as a good insight in other printing methods.
The centre's well-equipped studios provides artists and teachers with the technical facilities and specialised knowledge to carry out graphic projects, and are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The centre also has an educational outreach programme whereby it welcomes student groups for two-week residency with a tutor. The studios are also open to the public who can participate in a demonstration by the working artists.
Ms Cordina said that such training experiences promoted research and commitment "which is crucial within the teaching profession". She added that it is also indispensable for one's artistic and teaching development, given that such specialised centres are unavailable locally.
Part of the work she did during the residency is now part of the Belgian National Print collection, which is exhibited from time to time in galleries and museums throughout Belgium. Thus, she said, Malta is now being represented also in this prestigious collection.
Ms Cordina said that as a result of the experience she is more acutely aware of the importance of having a sound art educational programme locally.
"Art education should not be regarded as a peripheral subject; the skills attained through it branch through every profession and contribute towards a visually literate and cultured society. If we are to have a contemporary visual identity, in a European setting, visual arts need to be given a boost," she said.